Rox get Matzek, Wheeler and Brothers with top 3 picks

I practically begged the Rockies to take a chance with a high upside kid, ignoring potential contract demands. Not that they would ever listen to me, but the Rockies did just that, taking Tyler Matzek with the 11th pick overall. It was the first tremor on a surprising day for the Rockies. Not only did they gamble with Matzek, they landed Sacramento State center fielder Tim Wheeler with the 32nd pick and Rex Brothers with the 34th selection. They had considered taking those two with the 11th pick.

In the end, the Rockies ended up with three of the projected top 20 players.

Matzek is a 6-foot-3-inch left-hander from Capistrano Valley High School. The 18-year-old, who has been clocked as high as 98 miles per hour, has signed a letter of intent with Oregon. He was praised by MLB.com analyst John Hart for his four-pitch mix and his smooth delivery.

This kid is considered to have a huge upside, but has sent signals that he will not sign for slot money. This could lead to a protracted negotiation. On some draft boards, he was rated as high as No. 2, but slipped because of his signability issues. The last time the Rockies took a high school pitcher was the forgettable 2001 episode with Matt Harrington. He turned down roughly $4 million.

Matzek went 9-1 with a 1.58 ERA during his high school regular season, and went undefeated in the high school playoffs.

“Now the business side starts,” said Matzek regarding the contract talks.

With the 32nd pick in the first round, the Rockies selected Sacramento State center fielder Tim Wheeler. Wheeler has drawn comparisons to Steve Finley. He’s known as an offensive player with good speed. This is a pleasant surprise for the Rockies, who had considered taking Wheeler as high as No. 11. He hit .385 with 18 home runs this season in college.

The Rockies took Brothers with the 34th pick as compensation for the loss of free agent pitcher Brian Fuentes. Brothers was on the radar for weeks. The Rockies were considering Lipscomb in the 11th spot. He throws hard and competes, but has some command issues.

Matzek should keep one name in mind: Matt Harrington. Harrington wanted too much money up front, never signed, and kept sliding in the draft every time he re-entered it. If memory serves, he never even played minor-league ball. And the worst thing is: the payoff he and his agent were demanding was nothing compared to what he would have made if he had made the majors. The holdout didn’t even make financial sense. When it was all said and done, he sued his agent for malpractice. A very sad story.

Rockies Fan

Matzek should keep one name in mind: Matt Harrington. Harrington wanted too much money up front, never signed, and kept sliding in the draft every time he re-entered it. If memory serves, he never even played minor-league ball. And the worst thing is: the payoff he and his agent were demanding was nothing compared to what he would have made if he had made the majors. The holdout didn’t even make financial sense. When it was all said and done, he sued his agent for malpractice. A very sad story.

spd

Great early draft for the Rockies…with Brothers in the fold, it becomes less of a problem if Matzek doesn’t sign. Honestly though, from the scouting reports I’ve read, I really hope the Rockies go ahead and give Matzek the $7M or so he’s looking for to sign. He could be a solid front-end starter in a few years, so I hope he doesn’t slip away!

spd

Great early draft for the Rockies…with Brothers in the fold, it becomes less of a problem if Matzek doesn’t sign. Honestly though, from the scouting reports I’ve read, I really hope the Rockies go ahead and give Matzek the $7M or so he’s looking for to sign. He could be a solid front-end starter in a few years, so I hope he doesn’t slip away!

Kurt

A very good draft, assuming they all sign. The Rox desperitely need pitching prospects to develop with the recent misses on Greg Reynolds and Weathers. I think Brothers might be the steal. If we develop him as a reliever his 98mph fastball, 85mph slider combo (from the left side) could solidify the pen in a hurry.

Kurt

A very good draft, assuming they all sign. The Rox desperitely need pitching prospects to develop with the recent misses on Greg Reynolds and Weathers. I think Brothers might be the steal. If we develop him as a reliever his 98mph fastball, 85mph slider combo (from the left side) could solidify the pen in a hurry.

Chris

I agree they should do there best and try to sign Matzek even if it does mean giving him 7 million dollars to sign. If they are not going to overpay to bring FA in then why not put that money into the future and pay a legitimate #1 starter. The Rox need this kind of prospect as most of their pitching prospects project as number 2 or lower in the rotation. Reynolds was a bust considering they could have had the reigning Cy Young winner on their staff now instead of Reynolds (or even Longoria). Weathers was NOT a bust and is out for the year. He was moving his way up the system (probably AAA this year) if not for the injury in the arizona fall league. He probably would have been a nice addition to the struggling bullpen earlier this year.

Chris

I agree they should do there best and try to sign Matzek even if it does mean giving him 7 million dollars to sign. If they are not going to overpay to bring FA in then why not put that money into the future and pay a legitimate #1 starter. The Rox need this kind of prospect as most of their pitching prospects project as number 2 or lower in the rotation. Reynolds was a bust considering they could have had the reigning Cy Young winner on their staff now instead of Reynolds (or even Longoria). Weathers was NOT a bust and is out for the year. He was moving his way up the system (probably AAA this year) if not for the injury in the arizona fall league. He probably would have been a nice addition to the struggling bullpen earlier this year.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.